How to Identify Parts of a Guitar

By eHow Arts & Entertainment Editor

Rate: (0 Ratings)

Learning to play the guitar means knowing the guitar up and down. You need to know guitar terminology to better understand your guitar lessons. Learn to identify all of the parts of the guitar to know what your guitar teacher is talking about.

Flag Article

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Step1

Start with the body. The body of the guitar is the biggest piece. It connects to the neck of the guitar and holds the section of the strings that you typically strum. When you sit down to play the guitar, the guitar body typically rests on your legs.

Step2

Look down the neck. The neck is the long, thin portion of the guitar that holds the main section of strings. It also holds the frets–the thin metal strips placed along the neck. The neck of the guitar is also where you place your fingers to make chords.

Step3

Check out the headstock. The head of the guitar is also called the "headstock." It is the part of the guitar that attaches to the end of the neck. It holds the bright, silver knobs (tuning pegs) used to tune the guitar.

Step4

Glance back at the body to locate the tailpiece and bridge. The tailpiece anchors the strings to the guitar's body. It is located just behind the bridge of the guitar. The bridge also helps hold the strings down to the guitar's body.

Step5

Find the pickups. If you're playing an electric guitar, the pickups are located in front of the bridge and beneath the guitar strings. The pickups are essentially magnets surrounded in wires. When the strings move, they stir the pickups' magnetic fields send an impulse to the amplifier. This is how sound moves down the guitar to create music.

Step6

Locate the nut. The nut is the small, plastic piece that sits at the end of the guitar's neck. The strings sit in the grooves of the nut and touch the neck of the guitar at that point. The strings also connect to the headstock at the nut.

Tips & Warnings

Some electric guitars have a Tremolo or "Whammy Bar" on the face of the guitar body. The Tremolo is used to change the pitch of the guitar.
Some electric guitars also have volume controls and tone controls on the face of the guitar. These small knobs are used to change the volume and tone of the guitar.